Vandals splash paint all over Santa Fe offramp; taxpayers will foot the bill

SANTA FE -- Vandals armed with glass bottles of paint left behind a huge mess in Santa Fe Tuesday night, and it's going to cost state taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars to clean it up.

The paint vandalism happened near northbound I-25 at the Saint Francis exit.

Local drivers say they're not amused. "You wonder what these people are thinking," said one Santa Fe resident. "They must not have anything to do, or responsibility or pride in the area."

The state says it will cost between $60-70,000 of taxpayer money to clean up the mess.

"It's expensive because we're going to have to power-wash with water to spray all the paint off," said Melissa Dosher, a spokesperson for the New Mexico Department of Transportation.

She said NMDOT crews will also have to re-pave parts of the road after it is power washed.

"It makes me angry that our money is going to that instead of something useful," said another Santa Fe resident. "Everybody that works has to pay for that, so it's a shame."

The state says it will have to completely close down the off-ramp during the cleanup, which will likely happen later this week or next week.

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